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A. D. BRYAN ET AL FILING CONTAINER July 18, 1950 Filed March 12, 1948 y 1950 A. D. BRYAN ET AL 2,516,045

FILING CONTAINER Filed March 12, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3mm AUST/N D. BRYAN fawApo GEBELE/N Patented July 18, 9 50 FUNITED FILING CONTAINER Austin D. Bryan, Hartford, and Edward F. Gebelein, West Hartford, Conn, assignors to The Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, Hartford, Conn; a corporationof Connecticut Application March 12, 1948, Serial No. 14,408

2 Claims. (01. 129

The present invention relates generally to holders for documents and, more particularly, to a combined holder and visible index for containing a plurality of documents in an improved and. novel manner.

A specific embodiment of the present invention has been found to have particular utility in actual practice as a combined container and visible index for insurance policies, being characterized by a neat and compact appearance, being easy to carry and manipulate, and providing not only an efficient and readily accessible depository for the policies but also facilitating a quick and efficient reference to the contents thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a holder for documents such as a plurality of insurance policies, which is neat and pleasing in appearance, which is of compact and small size in relation to the documents carried thereby, and which can be readily carried about or tored in a small space.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a holder which is easy to manipulate and in which the contents are readily accessible and visibly indexible so as to permit easy and efficient identification of the contents and reference thereto.

Another object 'of the invention is to provide such a holder which is of simple and economical construction, which is easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and yet which is of rugged and durable design so that it will give satisfactory service over long periods of time without requiring repair or replacement.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplifled in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an insurance policy holder and visible index embodying the invention, the same being in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the holder in-an opened position to show the visible indexing function;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the holder as positioned in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the holder in a second opened position showing certain details of construction; and

Fig. 5 is an end view of the holder in a third opened position.

STATES PATENT oFFIcE Referring to the drawings in detail, and par-- ticularly to Fig. 1 thereof, it will be seen that the device of the present invention when in closed position very closely resemble a book in size and appearance. In the specific embodiment shown, the device is provided with top and bottom cover members Ill and II respectively constructed like the covers of a book and hingedly connected to. each other along one edge by a binding portion [2 which may be of the same material or a continuation of the covers. The cover members In and H preferably are generally rectangular in shape and their areas are just slightly larger than that of the document to be contained toinsure adequate protection.

The binding portion l2, which, as previously mentioned, may be a continuation of the cover members l0 and H, is scored or otherwise made:

bendable along the lines I3 to form a plurality of hinges l4 connected end to end in series. By reason of this hinged construction of binding portion 1'2, the holder may be disposed as a closed book. as viewed in Fig. l with the hinges it in closed position and situated one above the other, or the same may be opened and extended, as viewed in Figs. 2, 3 and l with the hinges Min open position and situated in the same plane as the covers l0 and H, or it may be opened like a book as viewed in Fig. 5 with the hinge M in closed position and stacked in two separate columns. ,1

I-Iingedly secured at both sides of each of the hinges l4 intermediate the lines 83 are a plurality of transparent envelopes l5 for receiving the insurance policies or other documents to be contained. To increase the capacity of the container,

an additional envelope 15 may be attached to the inside of each of the covers H] and I l at an equivalent distance from the lines 53 forming the inner edges of the covers IE! and H. In the specific embodiment shown, the envelopes l5 are hingedly secured to the midpoint of the sides of the hinges I4 and to the covers If! and II by flexible connecting strips It, the latter preferably being made of a material such as cloth or other tape which can be repeatedly flexed, i. e., folded through an arc of approximately without failure and which can be conveniently attached to the hinges l4 and envelopes [5 in a convenient manner such as by gluing, pasting or sewing, etc.

The envelopes l5 may be composed of any suitable transparent material such aS cellophane or other readily available plastic of like characteristics and for simplicity of manufacturing may be readily formed from a single sheet folded over to form the closed outer edge I1. Preferably the envelopes H) are open only at one end l8 for the insertion and withdrawal of the documents, the opposite end l8 being closed by a folded over portion [9.

By reason of the manner in which the envelopes l are connected to the binding portion [2 and cover members In and H, the envelopes IE will be neatly stacked one above the other in alignment when the container is closed as viewed in Fig. 1, or will be spread out with their outer edges I! in spaced relationship when the container is opened as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, or may be disposed and turned as the pages of a book as shown in Fig. 5. Manipulation of the container is effective from either end, the use of the container being completely reversible. By reason of the fact that the envelopes l5 are secured to both sides of the hinges [4, it is possible to utilize relatively deep hinges is without causing the edges I! of envelopes l5 to be too widely spaced when the container is spread out as in Fig. 2 and the number of hinges is kept to a minimum. Accordingly, the stacking of the hinges when the container is closed as in Fig. 1 is rendered more stable and no fastening means of any kind is normally required to hold the container in such closed position.

Inasmuch as the envelopes l5 are transparent, the insurance policies or other documents inserted into the envelopes I5 may be provided with suitable identifying indicia adjacent the edge ll such that a visible index of the contents of the various envelopes I5 is immediately provided when the container is disposed as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Additional data or information maybe provided farther inwardly from edge I! for further identification or details of the contents which also is viewable through the envelopes IS without requiring removal of the documents and which may be readily referred to simply by turning over the envelopes preceding the instant envelope which it is desired to inspect. The container being reversible, each envelope may be provided with a plurality of documents viewable and indexible from opposite sides of each envelope l5.

It thus will be seen that there has been provided in accordance with the invention a highly useful container of neat andcompact appearance for documents such as insurance policies which is easily transportable and convenient to manipulate and which permits rapid and efficient reference as well as ready accessibility to the contents thereof.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim as our invention:

1. A combined container and visible index for documents such as insurance policies comprising a pair of cover plates hingedly connected to each other along one edge by a binding portion in the form of series of interconnected hinges having side members, a plurality of transparent envelopes, and flexible connecting strips hingedly securing one of said envelopes along one edge to each side member of each hinge intermediate the edges of said side members, said strips permitting said envelopes to be pivoted relative to the side members of the hinges through an arc of substantially and one end of said envelopes being open for the reception. of said documents.

2. A combined container and visible index for documents such as insurance policies comprising a pair of cover plates, a binding portion in the form of a series of interconnected side by side hinges having side members hinged to each other and hingedly connecting said cover plates, a plurality of transparent envelopes, flexible connecting strips hingedly securing one of said envelopes along one edge to each side member of each hinge intermediate the edges of said side members, said strips permitting said envelopes to be pivoted relative to the side members of the hinges through an arc of substantially 180 and one end of said envelopes being open for the reception of said documents, and one of said transparent envelopes also being secured along one edge to the inside surfaces of each of the cover plates adjacent and spaced from the binding portion.

AUSTIN D. BRYAN. EDWARD F. GEBELEIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references, are of record in the file of this patent:

UNi'rEn- STATES PATENTS:

Number Name Date 916,206 Shedd Mar. 23, 1909 1,993,505 Engel Mar. 5, 1935 2,329,007 Simon et al. Sept. 7, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 332,975- Great Britain 1930 

